Pump.



R. SPRADO.

PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

1,076,323, Patented 001. 21, 1913.

50 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. SPRADO.

PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

1,076,323. Patented 0111.21, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R. SPRADO.

PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

3 SHEETS'SHEET 3.

\ f lllllllllllllllll I ED STATES PATENT o'er ICE.

RALPH SPBAD'O, OE ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

PUMP.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that T, RALPH SrRAno, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alameda, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pumps, of which the following is a s ecification.

This invention re ates to pumps, and particularly to double-acting, continuous discharge pumps.

It is the object of my invention to provide a double-acting orduplex pumping apparatus designed to produce a continuous nonfiuctuati'ng discharge of fluid; to provide a double-acting bucket pump in combination with a driving mechanism, of powerful, substantial and simple construction, involving a peculiar and novel arrangement whereby a substantially regular rotary mo tion is translated into a reciprocating movement having a. slow component and a rapid component; and providing in a pumping apparatus a combination of elements having the function of giving to the pump buckets such a reciprocatory movement that at all times there will be in effective pump ing stroke one or more of the buckets.

Inorder to produce an even flow from a well or other source it is necessary that the delivery or discharge of the fluid be For at as near as possible a uniform rate.

this reason I provide two plungers or buckets, one of which alternately is in the delivery or discharge eriod, and sometimes both may be in the elivery period at such a time when the delivery speed of both is near the minimum. In order to accomplish this even flow of water it is necessary that the suction stroke of both of these pl'ungers be at a higher rate of speed than the delivery stroke, and consequently the suction stroke is produced in a shorter period of time, while the delivery stroke of the two 'plungers may overlap one another.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pump.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 20, 1911.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913. Serial No. 639,511.

Fig. 2 is an end View of the same, looking toward the cranks. ig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the pump buckets as applied in a well. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the pump driving mechanism. Years of practical experience with pumping apparatus has led me to observe that the most eflicient and satisfactory form of well pumps is that class involving a plurality of simultaneously movable plungers or buckets, as they will be referred to hereinafter. My knowledge of the present art discloses that the most unsatisfactory features of these double-acting, continuous discharge pumps at present in use are their unwielding size, initial cost and also the great disadvantage of high cost of upkeep, due to the numerous stresses and strains brought to bear in pumps designed for-large capacity. These detrimental conditions have made manifest to -me the necessity of a doubleacting, continuous discharge plunger or bucket pump, involving a driving' mechanism of most reliable, simple, mechanical and practical construction. In providing a pump designed to fill the necessity, the accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, having a plunger or lower bucket 2 designed to re ciprocate within a cylinder 3, suitably supported in the interior of a well casing 4. The lower bucket 2 is connected by a rod 5 with a cross-head 6, slidable upon suitable guides 7 mounted in a pump frame 8. Also reciprocable within the cylinder 3 is another plunger, or whatiis herein termed the upper bucket 9, which is connected to a tubular rod 10, secured in another crosshead 11 slidable upon the cross head guides 7. The pump buckets 2 and 9 may be of any suitable or desired style of construction and are reciproeated throu h suitable mechanism hereinafter to be eseribed, and, when moved, constantly draw into and discharge through the cylinder 3 a volume of water taken from the bottom of the well.

Greatest eiiici'ency of thepump is obtained by causing one or the other, and sometimes both of the plungers for a part of their movement, to be constantly moving upward in, effective lifting and discharging eriod' or movement, and also causing the downward or suction stroke of the buckets to be at a speed considerable in excess of the effective discharging stroke. It is to obtain this greater efliciency and constant discharge that I provide a novel, simple and practical mechanism for. operating the pump uckets.

The bucket operating mechanism comprises independent links or connecting rods, one of which, as 12, is connected to the cross-head 11, which operates the top bucket 9, and the other connecting rod, as 13, is connected to the upper cross-head 6, which actuates the inner plunger rod'5 drivin the lower bucket 2. The connecting re 12 is mounted on a wrist-pin 14, which is appropriately secured upon a pump shaft 15, having at its opposite end a crank disk 16 carrying a crank 17 The connecting rod 13 is similarly mounted upon a wrist-pin 18, appropriately connected to a second pump shaft 19, which is parallelly disposed relative to the shaft 15. Both of these shafts are appropriately journaled in the pump frame 8. pump shaft 19 is a crank disk 20, carrying a crank pin 21. When the wrist-pins 14 an 18 are moved in a circular path by their respective shafts, a reciprocating motion is imparted to the pump plungers or buckets 2 and 9.

One of the particular and salient features of the resent invention is in imparting such a pecu iarly timed motion to the wrist-pins 14 and 18 that their respective buckets willbe given a rapid downward movement in the cylinder 3 and a gradual and slower upward or discharge motion through the cylinder. This desired and special movement of the wrist-pins and their associated parts is obtained b driving the ump shafts 15 and 19 throng means of t eir cranks 17 and 21 with a special connection to a suitable power mechanism, which is here shown as comprising a set of intermeshed gears 22 and 23, either of which may be-driven by a pinion 24, shown as engaging and driving the ear 22. The pinion is secured upon a driving shaft 25, to which power from any suitable source may be applied as desired; a pulley 26 being indicated as secured, in the present instance, to the shaft 25. The gears 22 and 23 are secured upon suitable shafts 27 and 28, which, in order to transmit to the pump shafts 15 and 19 a rotary motion havm a speed variable and different from that o the shafts 25 and 27, are preferably and purposely located eccentric to the pump shafts 15 and 19.

The cranks, or what will be termed the follower 'pins 17 and 21, of' the disks 16 and 20, are connected to cranks 29 and 30 secured respectively upon the driving gears Upon the opposite end of the.

22 and-23 by links 31 and 32 respectively. The juxtaposition or relation of the pin 21 and crank 30, and the pin 17 and the crank 29, is such as will give the desired variable rotation to the ump shafts 15 and 19. The positions of the wrist-pins 14 and 18 with angular relation to their respective follower pins '17 and 21 are so placed as to determine the exact and given positions of their respective plungers 2 and 9; that is to say, that in assembling thev ump the plungers 2 and 9 will be so space relative each other and the wrist-pins 14 and 18 will be so adjusted relative each other that when the pump shafts 15 and 19 are rotated the desired direction and speed of reciprocation of the pump or plunger buckets 2 and 9 will be such that at all times one or the other, and sometimes both of the plungers, will be on the delivery stroke. This will be made clear by referring to the diagrammatic view, shows the eccentric Fig. 4, which clearly relation of the driving shafts 27 and 28 with relation to their respective pump shafts 15 and 19.

In assembling the arts to produce the maximum pum inge ciency, assuming that the direction 0 rotation will be as indlca'ted by the arrows a, then the wrist-pin 14 will be adjusted at its uppermost point in its be advanced to the position indicated in the lower'part of Fig. 4, with its connecting link 31 inclined upwardly or outwardly and connected to-the follower pin 17, which is shown as approaching the center of its down stroke on the right side of'Fig. 4. lVit-h the follower pin 14 disposed aspassingits uppermost point, at which time the upper bucket will be at its uppermost rest position, the wrist-pin 18 is so disposed in its orbit that it will be swinging upwardly and will have caused the lowermost bucket v cycle of rotation and the driving pin will 2 to have started its upward discharge stroke. Due to-the eccentric relation of the adjacent shafts 19 and 27, the link 32 is moved around its orbit by the driving crank 30 which travels with a substantially uniform speed, and a variable movement is imparted to thepump shaft 29 by the link 32 which is mounted upon the follower pin 21. During the upward stroke, indicated in Fig. 4, of the follower pin 21, the pump wristpin 18 is moved up with a substantially regular and slow speed, but after the wristpin 18 has passed the uppermost point in its orbit above the shaft 19 the motion of the latter shaft is accelerated, due to the oscillating movement of the draw link 32 upon the pin 21, and the plunger apparatus mounted upon the wrist-pin 18- is driven downwardly with a speed in excess of that with which it rose. Inasmuch as the driving gears 22 and 23 are inter-meshed and in consequence must rotate, if of equal diameters,

with a uniform speed and in a reverse direction, then the given relations of the driving cranks 29 and 30 will always remain the same. By reason of the connection by the links 31 and 32 with the follower pins 17 and 21 a given relationship in which the plungers reciprocate and the variation of rotation of the pump shafts 15 and 19 are constant during the running of the apparatus, the desired constant discharging effect of the plungers is accomplished. At a period of rotation of the wrist pins 14 and 18 the plungers will be given an upward movement simultaneously; the period of simultaneous movement being that at which the plunger are advancing or moving upwardly with their minimum efficiency, and which period is indicated approximately by the arcs b and 0, Fig. 4. During the travel of the wrist-pin 14 through the are 0, its associate plunger 9 is still ascending, while at the same time an ascending motion is imparted by the wrist-pin 18 while traveling in the are I) about its associate or lower bucket 2. Thereafter while the wrist-pin 18 is ascending with a slow movement the other wrist-pin 14 is moving its associate plunger downward at a rate of speed considerably in excess of the movement of the bucket 2. Manifestly, the variation of speed of the follower pins 17 and 21 may be determined within certain limits by the amount of eccentricity the several driving shafts bear with relation to the driven or pump shafts. If said driving and pump shafts are arranged with their axes in a common line, there would be no variation in the speed of rotation of the alined shafts, but as the alinement of the shafts is broken and they are disposed eccentric to each other the several draw links 31 and 32 then swing during a period of their circuit upon the follower pins and the driving cranks, so that there is a material difference in speed of rotation of the two rotary devices which are connected by the separate draw links. This variable speed of rotation, when imparted to the pump shafts 15 and 19, has the function and particular purpose of moving the associate plungers or buckets in such time and with such relation as to constantly effect a discharge of fluid from the well.

This unique and novel combination of means for translating a substantially uniform, rotary motion, first into a variable rotary motion, and then against changing this variable, rotary motion into a variable reciprocatory motion, is the particular and essential feature in the pump here disclosed.

It is understood that such variations, alterations and changes as various conditions may require may be resorted to within the principle of my invention. It is also understood that I may employ my assembled driving mechanism in a single-acting or single plunger or bucket pump, or various other adaptations may be resorted to as will be determined by conditions to be met.

Ordinary types of double-acting cylinders are operated by cranks set opposite each other. Each bucket completes its stroke at the instant the other commences, and both are on dead centers at the same time. This means that the water column is started and stopped twice in each revolution of the power head and that both the plungers or pistons must close under the full pressure of the water column, which in some instances may be hundreds of feet. The load on the buckets changes instantly from nothing to full load twice in each revolution of the power head, and the result is a severe shock or water hammer in the mechanism, the intensity of which is proportional to the piston speed.

In practice, with ordinary types of doubleacting pumps, the piston speed must be slow enough to allow the water column to start gradually, and a water column, sometimes hundreds of feet long, must be started its whole length at one time. A large part of the useful power applied is wasted in overcoming the inertia of the water column at every stroke.

It will be manifest that the present invention provides a power mechanism, a pump adapted to overcome all the aforesaid objections by keeping the water column in constant or continuous upward discharge motion without cessation, by reason of the fact that at all times one or the other of the plungers is effective to lift the water. At certain periods when the driving head elements are in their position of minimum efliciency, the plungers are caused to travel simultaneously upwardly, or, in other words, their members overlap, due to-the relationship of their driving Wrist-pins, as before described. In this pump as the lower bucket approaches the upper limit of its stroke, the upper bucket simultaneously starts its upper stroke, thereby taking the load from the lower bucket and forcing the water upward without cessation.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat cut, is

In a power pump head, the combination of a mam frame, a pair of crank shafts each having offset end cranks journaled in the frame, a pair of telescoping plunger rods each carrying a plunger, a cross head to which each plunger rod connects, guide rods on which said cross heads reciprocate, pitmen connecting the cross heads with respective cranks on one end of said crank shafts, a pair of intermeshing gears eccentrically mounted with respect to the crank shafts, and drag links direct connected to fixed cranks on the gears and to the cranks on op posite ends of the crank shafts to the pitrnan In testimony whereof I have hereunto set connect-ions, said plungers, cranks, shafts my hand in the presence of two subscribing and fixed cranks on the gears being' so osiwitnesses.

tioned and arranged that the plungers have RALPH SPRADO.

a slow up, and a quick return motion and Witnesses: for a portion of their travel move in the. F. E. MAYNARD, same direction, substantially as described. CHARLES EDELMAN. 

